Colleen D'Angelo
Greeting deer and dogs on the Muirfield bike paths and planting spring flowers are some of my favorite things to do with Mason by my side. Mason is my family’s 6-year-old spaniel who never lets me out of his sight and is always up for a cuddle or an outdoor adventure.
As is the case for many pet owners, Mason is an integral part of our family and brings us incredible joy. Seventy percent of U.S. households own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association, which is up from 56 percent in 1988. Staying homebound during the pandemic brought many of us even closer to our furry friends as we leaned on each other for emotional support.
Consider the 23 million American households who adopted a “pandemic pet” – including President Joe Biden and his new dog, Commander – and business is booming. Total pet industry expenditures in the U.S. totaled $123.6 billion last year, up 19 percent from 2020.
So, what do we do with our dogs? We don’t want to leave our four-legged friends at home, and fortunately restaurants, shops and hotels are taking notice. Many Dublin patios are dog-friendly and several establishments even offer yummy treats!
Dubliner Randi Bicking enjoys taking her daughter, Kamryn, and their 3-month-old rescue dog, Tucker, to Starbucks for a whipped cream puppuccino. Casey Clarke, and her daughter, Jo, purchase similar pup cups at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea when strolling in the Bridge Park area with their standard poodles. Johnson’s Real Ice Cream offers scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with a dog treat, while Winans Chocolates + Coffees has waggie bones dog treats with yogurt based white chocolate. At Graeter’s Ice Cream, the first Thursday of the month, April-September, means free frozen treats for Fido from 6-9 p.m.
Many Dublin restaurants, including Condado Tacos and Dublin Village Tavern, are also opening their patios to pets. Lynn Oshida recommends Revelry Tavern and North High Brewing for their fantastic dog-friendly areas.
It’s not just treats for dogs in Dublin, though. There’s plenty of opportunities to get out and paw around.
Nando’s Dog Park at Darree Fields has sections for small and large dogs to play off-leash. For socialization, The Dublin Market at Bridge Park is filled with every breed imaginable on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m.-noon. Ilene Smith sells pet accessories at the market and says she has a tent full of pups at all times.
Dogs come to the forefront in Dublin this fall for the Dublin Pet Fair, a free family event on Sunday, Sept. 25, from noon-5 p.m. at the Coffman Park Pavilion. Watch the Southern Ohio Flying K-9 demos, meet adoptable pets, enjoy food trucks, and visit the vendors and low-cost pet wellness clinic. Bring your pooches but remember that you are always responsible for their pawsitive behavior when out in public!
Colleen D’Angelo is a Dublin Life columnist and freelance writer. She and her husband, Tony, raised three children in Dublin over the last 25 years.Colleen enjoys playing and teaching pickleball; walking her pup, Mason; and traveling internationally. You can reach her at colleendangelo1@gmail.com.
